AP Art History – UNIT ONE Prehistory - “The Birth of Art” “Cave Conjecture” -Site of “caves” of much Paleolithic Art as well as the lack of documentation, and thus “conjecture.” Key Concepts: -Nonverbal history; Nomadic lifestyle and its effects on making art; Accessible tools and materials; Western vs. non-Western Paleolithic/Mesolithic/Neolithic artworks; Agriculture’s effect on art; women of prehistory. Date Wed. 8/6 Topic Prehistoric Art (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) Thurs. 8/7 Works of Art Paintings Hall of Bulls (Lascaux, France) Bison (Altimira, Spain) Sculpture Venus of Willendorf (Austria) Woman from Brassempouy (France) Architecture Stonehenge (England) Skara Brae (Scotland) Practice Essays Vocabulary: (14) Archaeology; Cairn; Capstones; Corbeling; Cromlech; Dolmen; Henge; Megalith; Menhir; Mortise-and-tenon; Passage Grave; Prehistory; Post-and-lintel construction; Relative dating Additional Resources: http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/s/stoneage.html www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/arcnat/lascaux/en/index.html (Hall of Bulls) witcombe.sbc.edu/willendorfdiscovery.html (Woman from Willendorf) Other things to consider: What changes occurred between the Paleolithic (‘Old Stone Age’) to the Neolithic (‘New Stone Age’) period? Explain why calling a prehistoric figure a “woman” instead of “Venus” frees us to think about the object in a new and different ways. What evidence is there that some megalithic monuments, such as Stonehenge, may have had a relationship to celestial events in the calendar?